Power Failure
by Tansyflower
Summary: Jake, after a fight with a magical creature, finds himself weaker and struggles to do anything normally. As he searches for answers, he learns there's something mysterious going on, including the dislocation of the Ninja, who's having problems as well.
1. Friends

_Hey guys! After thinking about the idea for awhile, I've decided to make this. Hopefully, when I finish my DP/RC9GN "Knowledge is Responsibility," I can tie the knot with a DP/ADJL fanfic, and maybe consider writing the origin of the Secret Trio, but who knows? For now, I'm just excited to try a new story out, which may have pauses of time between chapters due to my other story. Thanks!_

* * *

"C'mon, Grandpa! I wanna go do something fun! This is boring!" A child crossed his arms grumpily while sitting down in a row of foldup chairs.

The young boy's grandfather beside him sighed. "Jake, I know you're tired, but this marriage anniversary is important to your mother and the friends she's setting it up for. You'll just have to be patient."

"But I don't wanna be stuck here for a few more days! There's nothing fun going on!"

"Sorry, young dragon, but you don't always get what you want in life." Grandpa turned away to read the newspaper he'd brought with him.

_Why does he call me that? _Jake, in frustration, also looked away at whatever was at least a little bit intriguing in the gigantic room they were in. Apparently, his mother and father were helping bring this event to order for their old teachers or something, but he could care less. And because of this, he'd be stuck sitting around with nothing to do in this place, including after the anniversary party was over. The thought was devastating for him.

Another kid about his age entered the room. He flopped onto a few chairs away from Jake and swung his legs back and forth. Knowing it wasn't polite to stare, and how strict Grandpa was about good manners, Jake occasionally took glances at the kid and turn away before anyone noticed. The boy had on a gray hoodie with a red and white t-shirt underneath. Black pants and purple shoes, along with dark purple hair and blue eyes full of vigor. Definitely not anyone Jake had seen in his school. Maybe he was from out of town.

At first, Jake was succeeding at his spying plan. It was smooth going, until the boy finally stopped swinging his legs and caught him in the act. Uneasy, Jake was ready to break eye contact, but the other guy surprised him. "Hi!" He called from his seat, waving and revealing a smile with a missing tooth.

"Uh, hello." Jake answered back while making sure Grandpa hadn't caught on. In fact, Gramps had fallen asleep, snoring soundly, so Jake knew he wouldn't get in trouble with anyone… for once.

The boy leaned towards his direction. "What are you here for?"

"My parents are here helping with this anniversary. Do you know what anniversary means?"

He shrugged. "My mom shays shome thingsh are better left unknown. I'm here because theshe people are friendsh of the family or shomethin'. I wish I hadn't been taken along, becaushe being with my besht friend at home would've been more fun!" He scowled in irritation.

"Me too. At least a video game would've been nice. So, then, you'll also be around a lot?" The thought of another kid suffering the same fate was kind of relieveing, especially if it meant he wouldn't be alone.

"Yup. It's not fair." The boy was silent afterwards, gazing around with curiousity.

Assuming their conversation had ended for the moment, Jake looked at his feet. At the sound of a slightly shifted chair, his view returned to his left and nearly startled when he realized the kid had taken the seat beside him while he wasn't watching. "Wow, you're fast!" he commented, impressed.

"Yeah, a lot of people tell me I'm as schwift as ninsha." Suddenly, the boy's eyes widened with excitement. "Do you like ninshas?"

"…I guess so? I'm more into skateboarding an' stuff, but they're cool enough." Jake could only wonder where this sudden change of conversation was going.

The boy bounced with much boundless energy. "Where I live, the high shool's protected by a real, live _ninsha! _I'm hish biggeth fan! When I grow up, I want to meet 'im and get histh autograph. Better yet, I can't wait to shee him in actshun shomeday, schaving lives, fighting, an' more!"

It was a little hard to understand him with his lisp, but Jake liked this guy. "Where do you live?" He asked inquisitively.

"Why, in Norrishville! The broosheth plashe in the world with the ninsha protecting everyone! What'sh sho exhiting about New York Cithy?"

Feeling a little challenged, Jake thought hard about what there was to do. But what did he know about NYC? He was even too young to cross the street alone! "I don't know, but if there's one thing I want to see someday, it's some skateboarders! Mom says I'm too little to learn how to, but I'm dying to do it someday! Maybe become a wicked pro at it too! And there's rappers, and cool music, and lots more!"

The other kid, thankfully, seemed awestruck. "Schweet! If I'm lucky, I'll get to shee that schtuff shomeday, too! Although nothin' beatsh the ninsha." Once again, his eyes lit up with an idea. "Hey, why don't I come back in the futshure to shee you schkateboard, while you vichit me and meet the coolesh guy ever? Deal?" He put forward his hand

_Forward, isn't he? _Jake made sure Grandpa wasn't watching, and bobbed his head. "Deal!" They shook hands happily.

From across the room, Jake heard his dad call. "Jake! I could use your help real quick!"

Startled, Grandpa woke up. At the sound of his daughter's husband, he grumbled something with Jake couldn't understand, and gestured at Jake to go, not catching the new guy on his radar.

Feeling very disappointed, Jake followed his father's voice, but not before the stranger whispered, "Shee you around, pershun I jush met!"

Jake couldn't help but grin. "Bye, kid!" he replied as he exited the room. He didn't know it yet, but he'd see this kid a few more times before their abrupt friendship would disappear just as abruptly.

* * *

"No… Stop it… Wonk! What are you doing? Stop it!"

His eyes opened huge and shocked. Below him, he felt hard cement, and a chilly wind blew around him. Shakily sitting up, he moaned at the bizarre dizziness in his brain. "Ugh, my head… What happened?" As hard as he tried to remember, nothing came into his memory about what events had led him unconscious on the ground.

He put his hand over his head, only to realize he was still wearing the Ninja Suit. Looking up to check for no bystanders, he discovered he was in an alleyway, garbage cans and other whatchamacallits decorating it poorly. _This doesn't look familiar, not that I've ever purposely explored any alleys in Norrisville… _He glanced at both sides, felt positive he was safe, and he pulled on the Ninja Mask.

Usually, the mask would come off easily, taking the suit away with it and revealing its user, Randy Cunningham, once again. But something wasn't right. As much as he tugged, the mask would not come off. "Huh? That's odd." He gave one last attempt, only to fall backwards and hit his already befuddled mind on the wall. "Ow! Why aren't you coming off? You've never done this to me before!" Randy inspected the area around his neck for any sign of strings or tape. But besides his scarf, nothing out of place was there. "How is this stuck, then?" He mumbled in frustration to himself. "There's no way I shouldn't be able to take the suit off! What else could be preventing me unlike all the other times?"

Deciding nothing could be done sitting on the job, Randy hoisted himself up. His legs nearly buckled under him, and he had to grasp onto the wall before he collasped again. For some reason, he felt very weak. For the life of him, he couldn't remember being sick, and it wasn't as if he was bruised or exhausted. It was just his head struggling to focus and his body not having any strength to hold him up very long. He had a feeling the cause for finding himself here probably was connected to his lack of concentration and energy.

"No use being vulnerable here. The Ninja needs some answers." Trembling, both from the cold and the effort to stay afoot, he stumbled a bit to the closer side of the alleyway before it hit him. "Wait, I can't just go out as the Ninja and expect no one to be curious."

In front of him, a large, heavy-looking coat with a couple stains was partially sticking out of a garbage can. Hesitantly, Randy snatched the coat and more than ever wanted to throw it back. His hoodie was definitely more appealing than these rags! But with no other option, he did his best to slip it on, and put the fuzzy hood over his head, nearly falling due to its weight. Taking a moment to check his disguise in a nearby window, he could tell it wouldn't be too difficult to not catch attention as long as nobody looked too closely at his legs and hidden face. "Alright, let's go."

Outside of the alley, Randy nearly hit the floor again, this time due to shock. Instead of some decent-sized buildings, they were very tall and almost touched the cold, cloudy sky. The noise of cars, people, and other things became extremely apparent. There was a couple trees, but not near the amount Randy typically experienced at home. He was already woozy, but the whole new world wasn't what he'd expected. Sure, he'd been here a few times, but not nearly enough to get used to it.

"What the juice?!" Randy gasped as he breathed in the different setting of New York City.


	2. Markings

_Crash!_ Jake groaned as he smashed into a light pole and fell backward, his skateboard flying into the air and banging into the ground. It was rare for him to mess up in the skate park, but he wearily knew that even the best skaters had their wipeouts.

"Yo, Jakey! Are you living?" Trixie hollered, running in his direction with Spud in hot pursuit.

Jake stood up, his body aching from the impact. "Yeah, I'm fine. I guess trying that flip wasn't the smartest idea."

"Wait 'til your grandpa sees the bruises." Trixie retrieved his skateboard and handed it back to him.

"At least it's not like you cheated or anything," Spud added. "We all know how crazy he goes at that."

"Thanks, Spud. That makes my collision course feel less painful," Jake muttered kindly, but sarcastically. If anyone ever really understood the things that went through Spud's mind, then most of the world would likely explode.

"You're welcome, my friend," Spud replied, taking off his helmet. The three friends were about done with their fun, especially because Jake needed to get to his grandfather's shop for dragon training and checking out how the magical creatures of New York City were faring.

Trixie glanced up at the cloudy sky. "I'm surprised it hasn't rained yet. With how cold and windy it's been, it's a miracle we're not icicles!"

"Tell me about it," Jake agreed. "And I thought the Huntsclan gave me the most shivers!" The thought of his now nonexistent foes brought another thought into his mind, the one with a kind, gifted girl who'd stolen his heart. "Speaking of the Huntsclan, I wonder how's Rose doing?"

"Dude, you need to let go. She's in Hong Kong right now, with no memories of you." Trixie reminded him, but respectfully.

"I know, but it's not the same as-"

"NO FACE! I just saw somebody with NO FACE!" Spud was suddenly panicking, frantically pointing towards a group of people who'd been observing the skaters.

"Spud, calm down! I don't see anyone without a face!" Trixie barked, annoyance in her expression. "Anyhow, I don't think making a scene helps!"

"But I'm _sure_ I spotted someone without a face! I've always feared what would happened if you were all there, except your head!" Spud was shaking in terror at the thought.

"Really? There's no such thing as a faceless person! Remember when you scared of land sharks? And remember how _that_ ended?"

"Actually, Trixie… Nevermind," Jake halted his insert. Telling Spud about shark people during this time might not be the wisest idea.

Spud was starting to relax. "I still know what I saw. Next time you see No-Face coming after you, you'll believe me!" Spud nervously took one last shot at the crowd then leaned down to tie his shoes.

Jake, wondering what had rubbed Spud such the wrong way, analyzed the group. Everyone seemed pretty normal, as normal as people could get. Once a few moved away, though, Jake noticed the back of someone wearing a filthy coat and having long, black legs. Something red stuck out from the bottom of the coat, most likely a scarf. Jake knew Spud didn't usually lie, but there's still no way…

The person shifted around, to where what was under the hood could be seen. Sort of. It was so dark that Jake couldn't see anything. Squinting his eyes, he could make out eyes, but that was it. There was literally nothing else, as if he… _didn't have a face? _Stunned and curious, Jake wanted a better look, tempted to use the eye of the dragon.

"Jake! I think you might want to check out what my foot just came across!" With narrowed eyes, Spud was staring at the ground next to his shoe.

Jake briefly took a quick glance over his shoulder, and realized that the strange no-faced person had vanished. Letting go of his surely ridiculous puzzlement, Jake leaned down and stared at the cement. "Say what now? Claw marks?" he asked with surprise. There were claw-like indents, with tiny rubble scattered on the sides.

"Weird, isn't it?" Trixie murmured. "We ought to tell your gramps and Fu Dog about this."

"Y'know, I bet No-Face did this!" Spud announced confidently. Jake and Trixie stared at him, to which he finally sighed in defeat. "Alright, it isn't."

"Let's go. The Am Drag is in business!" Jake and his friends left the skate park in a hurry.

* * *

"What the juice?!"

"My words exactly," Randy admitted. Sitting on the side of the building, he'd taken out his phone and called Howard. After a quick exploration, the thought that people at home might be worried about his whereabouts had reminded him to get to work on informing them. After all, his phone had a low battery, so unless he could get a charger, some cash, or new friends with phones, he wouldn't have a way to contact anyone eventually.

"But really, New York City? How did you get stuck there?" Howard's blaring voice wasn't usually a challenge to listen to, but Randy's mind was so befuddled that even understanding talking was really hard.

"Look, I don't know, okay? I must've been doing something when boom! I got knocked out and left at the mercy of this huge city. Do you remember what I was doing then?"

"Well, the last time I saw you was yesterday when we were in Home Ed. You saw something, excused yourself to the bathroom, and never returned. I think you told me you needed to look in the Nomicon, but during that time, you must've dealt with an interruption."

"Yesterday?" Randy gasped. "I've been gone since yesterday? What about Mom?" He already felt bad physically; he didn't need to feel bad mentally as well.

"Oh, her? Don't worry; I said you were staying at my house last night. Knowing me so well, she went for it. I don't know for how much longer, though, and if she talks to Heidi or my parents…" Howard trailed off awkwardly.

"Thanks, man. And once I'm done chatting with you, I'll do my best to explain some kind of excuse to her. I doubt I'll be back anytime soon."

"So, how are you going to survive until then? You can't exactly buy food, can you?"

Randy smirked a bit. Typical Howard. Food was a very big deal to him. "Actually, I'm not hungry. I'm feeling ill right now. Not a fever, but something's unconditionally not right with me. And I didn't even tell you the other part to this dilemma. As hard as I try, I can't get the Ninja Suit off."

"What? That's impossible! As long as I've known you are the Ninja, I've never watched you struggle to take the mask off whenever you're done."

"Me too. Whatever the reason, I need to find out, and I'm hopeful that I will. By the way, will you figure out a way to stop any monsters or robots in case I'm not back in time to fend them off? I know you can pull it off somehow."

"Of course. And you?"

Randy tried to sound as energetic and enthusiastic as possible. "I'll be okay. I just need to get rid of what's affecting me so badly, then I'll be the cheese again."

After they shared goodbyes, Randy rested his hand that had been holding the phone. Even holding a _cellphone_ was tough! What could've happened? What had turned him from a strong, healthy teen to a wimpy, pathetic ninja? _I vow to get to the bottom of this._

While relaxing to regain his strength, Randy thought back to his adventure at the skate park. He didn't have to go there, but a past promise had returned to him. A promise he'd made ages ago when he'd gone to some anniversary. But he was only starting to refresh those memories, and if the person he'd made the promise back then had been around, he was having an honestly challenging time remembering what he must've looked like, let alone what his appearance was now.

Oh well, another thought for another day. As far as he knew, the person could've moved, or lost interest in skateboarding altogether. Besides, he couldn't go around in the Ninja Suit and endangering his secret identity until he could remove the mask from his face.

Clenching his exhausted hand, he made his second call.

* * *

"So, you found claw marks?" Grandpa, on his couch, questioned his grandson and grandson's friends in his shop.

"Yeah, G, right in the cement. Any news of magical creatures acting up?" Jake asked.

Fu Dog, scanning through some books, shook his head. "No luck, kiddo. I played cards with a few creatures last night, and no one said anything about it. Of course, when you're playing poker, it's best to say very little."

Trixie crossed her arms. "Just promise for Spud's sake that it isn't a person without a face."

Fu Dog raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Spud thought he saw someone without a face at the skate park. I think I might've seen him too, but I didn't get a good enough look at his face. All I know is he was wearing a coat, a long, red scarf, and black leggings or something similar."

"See? I'm not alone!" Spud exclaimed joyfully. Relaxing again, he asked, "Seriously, though, you should check your books for stuff about that. There's no way that guy could've made claw marks, but something about him seemed rather strange."

Grandpa straightened himself on his couch. "Okay, we'll search for anything that might match your description. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't have a look around tonight. You and your friends need to search around the skate park to find the creature responsible."

"But I have a test tomorrow," Jake complained. "Principal Rotwood would love to have anything to punish me for, including test results. I could really use the sleep."

"Jake, I know school is important to you, but it's more important to protect-"

"-The magical creatures." Jake finished. "Yeah, yeah, I got it. Fine, we'll search the place like there's no tomorrow."

"Besides, Jake," Spud pointed out, "Without the Huntsclan on our trail, this should be easier. There won't be any 'I want that creature,' and 'I shall hunt you, dragon!'"

Jake shrugged. "True enough. Okay, gramps, we'll see you tonight at eight."


End file.
